Members of the
F. oxysporum species complex exhibit extraordinary genetic plasticity and cause some of the most destructive and intractable diseases across a diverse spectrum of hosts, including many economically important crops such as banana, cotton, canola, melons, and tomato.
More...Members of the
F. oxysporum species complex exhibit extraordinary genetic plasticity and cause some of the most destructive and intractable diseases across a diverse spectrum of hosts, including many economically important crops such as banana, cotton, canola, melons, and tomato. The Fusarium Comparative Genomics Project (Ma et al, Nature 2010) highlighted the existence of lineage-specific chromosomes that are enriched for transposable elements and encode genes that are pathogenicity related. The comparative analysis provides evidence for the horizontal transfer (HT) of four chromosomes accounting for 25% of the genome in an asexual, pathogenic fungal species, Fusarium oxysporum. The direct contribution of the chromosomes to pathogenicity is indicated by the fact that they encode known virulence factors such as effector proteins, necrosis-inducing peptides and a large array of enzymes targeting plant substrates, but lack genes involved in primary metabolism. The objective of this project is to search for the presence of pathogenicity related chromosomes in other
F. oxysporum isolates that cause disease in different plant hosts.
The primary solution to control diseases caused by
F. oxysporum is through the development of disease resistant plant cultivars. However, due to their persistence in the soil and the organisms ability to adapt, it is just a matter of time before the pathogens overcome the newly deployed resistance. Understanding the genetic mechanisms that sustain the pathogenicity of this group of organisms will enable the discovery of novel management strategies.
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